Purchase sparks hope of energy plant’s revival

CHESTER – A long-dormant power plant off Route 116 might be revitalized with the purchase of the plant, its land and equipment for about $750,000, town officials said Tuesday.

Evergreen Energy Co. apparently purchased the former Beaver Wood Joint Venture, or Beaver Chester plant sometime late last week, also paying off taxes due on the land over the last three years, First Selectman Temple Ireland said.

“It’s certainly going to help restore our surplus account because they are a couple of years delinquent on taxes,” he said Tuesday.

Little was known Tuesday about what Evergreen has in mind for the plant, said Ireland and Ruth Birtz, the town’s assessing agent. No local officials have heard from Evergreen, they said, aside from deed transfers and a letter from attorney Robert E. Sutcliffe of Rudman & Winchell of Bangor that came with a check totaling $326,523.50 for the property’s 2003-05 personal and real estate taxes.

“I am not sure if they are going to start it up or whether they are buying it to dismantle it or whether they are buying it for a local company,” Ireland said.

Sutcliffe and Evergreen officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Birtz speculated that Evergreen was associated with Evergreen Wind Power LLC, which is working to erect 30 wind turbines on Mars Hill Mountain in central Aroostook County this year and might use some of the power transfer machinery still on the Beaver Wood site.

But Peter Gish, an official with UPC Wind Partners of Newton, Mass., one of Evergreen’s parent companies, said Evergreen was not involved with the purchase.

The 17-megawatt facility, owned by Alternative Energy Inc., burned sawdust, chips, bark and other waste wood to produce electricity from 1986 to 1992, when Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. purchased the remainder of its 25-year contract for more than $25 million and closed it down.

Christopher Hutchins, who owns Alternative Energy, did not return repeated telephone calls requesting comment.